health and wellness

So, we’ve come to the end of another year. Who’s been doing a lot of reflection of late? It’s been a bit of a crazy year my end. The beginning of 2017 started out fairly strong. I had lots of plans for the year ahead (particularly with Naturallea) then it all went a little crazy. Work life went stupidly busy, patient referrals hit an all time high and staffing at an all time low. Which has been leaving me feeling quite drained for some time. We moved house which has been and continues to be a huge renovation project/headache. I can’t believe how hard it’s been if I’m honest. I don’t do too well with mess, builders walking through my house, and what feels like disorganization. Oli had a car crash. He was fine, but then we were down to one car. Which for us, is a logistical nightmare. Then I decided now was a good time to embark on my yoga teacher training. Then just to throw more chaos in to the works Oli thought it was a good idea to get not one but TWO puppies. Definitely my biggest challenge so far. Most the time, my life is all a bit of a comedy sketch and I feel like I’m in the middle of it all, losing my mind slightly. BUT, I sort of see light at the end of tunnel now. I’m hoping that my life in 2018 will have a bit more calm with more direction and not just about surviving the day. So, although I don’t really do resolutions as such, I have given myself some goals. I think giving yourself some sort of focus or a goal is a positive thing. You’re sort of just gently giving yourself a sense of direction. So direction for me looks like this right now:

Make more time for blogging (currently getting off to a flying start).

More recipe creating (and then blogging about it).

More yoga teaching. More yoga learning.

Get outside and run more.

Having the best time with Amelie before she starts school in September. I’m currently off Tuesday and Friday’s with her so I’m going to enjoy every minute before the routine changes again.

Smiling more at all the good in my life and not fretting about some of the shit that happens. It happens, I need to learn not to dwindle on it.

There’s a few things there. But they are things I feel quite passionate about so I’m pretty sure my focus won’t steer too far from this list. I also just wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year (to anyone that might happen to be reading this). You are a lovely lot. I hope 2018 is bright and prosperous for you all. Resolutions or no resolutions just enjoy this crazy thing called life. Lots of love Lea xx

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This smoothie tastes just like Christmas. Sooo delicious and my new favourite smoothie choice for this time of year. If you’re already starting to feel the affects of the cold weather or you have some serious Christmas parties happening this smoothie will really help you out.

Literally whizz up the following ingredients in a blender and voila.

Serves 2

2 heaped tablespoons of natural live yoghurt

2 bananas

1 teaspoon of Grated ginger

1 teaspoon of Cinnamon powder

1 teaspoon of Turmeric powder

1 tablespoon of honey

300ml of Almond milk

And then just whizz up in the blender.

I’ve had this two days in a row now just because it’s so tasty. Let me know if you give this a try.

Love Lea xx

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After much research Oli and I decided that we wanted to invest in a water distiller. We were already filtering water (standard Brita filter jug, nothing fancy) and frequently buying bottled water. For us we felt that a water distiller would be a good investment and much cheaper and more environmentally friendly than buying bottled water. Not to mention better for our internal filtering system.

In our research in to whether water distillation was a good option or not we didn’t need much convincing and kind of felt we had no choice but to invest in one. We’ve actually been toying with the idea since Amelie was born, nearly three years ago. On a recent business trip to Europe Oli got to try some water from a water distiller and decided just to go for it. We had also done lots of reading on reverse osmosis systems (filtering out contaminants that are larger in size than water molecules, if the contaminants are smaller than water molecules they pass through and remain in your drinking water), for this reason we felt the water distiller was for us. With a water distiller the process just seemed more effective. When using a water distiller the water is first gently boiled. This kills off viruses and bacteria and leaves all the pollutants behind. The steam is then captured in a stainless steel coil where it cools to form pure water. This water then passes through an activated charcoal filter to finally remove any trace of impurities. Common water impurities removed from water distillation are: antibiotics, fertilizers, pesticides, chlorine, viruses etc. You can find a more comprehensive list here. There is an argument that using a distiller actually removes minerals that we humans do need and use, for example magnesium. However, for me I feel that I have a great diet and should be absorbing all the minerals I need from the foods I’m eating. I would much rather the filtering of harmful chemicals and pollutants happen outside my body than within.

So we decided to purchase the Megahome Water Distiller from JD Harris for £139.95, this was the best price we could find for everything we wanted. For 4 litres of water it takes about 5-6 hours for the whole process to complete. You might want to get ahead of the game and store a completed batch of water whilst distilling the next 4 litres. I guess it depends on how many are in your household and how much water you drink/use. Once the water has gone through is distilling process it is very clear and definitely has less of a taste, if that makes sense. I live in a hard water area and feel that I can really taste the tap water and the taste is quite distinctive and not pleasant. Sometimes it does make my face squirm.

Although at first glance spending this much on a water distiller seems like quite a big expense, the more I think about it the more I feel quite content with the investment. I won’t be buying bottled water anymore and I won’t be buying Brita filters anymore (quite expensive), and I won’t be doing that weird face squirm anymore ; ) From an aesthetic perspective, it is quite big and takes up a lot of room on the kitchen side. I went for the cream/off white colour to blend in with my new kitchen (when we finally move) and also the glass jug as it looked a little more classy/expensive. The actual main trunk of the machine gets quite warm so will provide a little heat in the kitchen in the winter too. Not quite sure how much electricity it uses yet, but I’ll worry about that later.

This post isn’t to try to push the product in any way. Just my thoughts on it in case you were wondering whether to make the purchase too : )